Thursday, November 11, 2010

The older I get the more that I am so appreciative to the men and women who have served our great nation in the armed forces. They have defended the rights and freedoms of America and it's people all around the world and this is something that is immeasurable in terms of the appreciation and respect I have for them all.

Thank you to all those who currently serve or have served in the past. Thank you to the families of those who've served for their love and sacrifice as well.

May God bless you all and may we all take a moment to reflect on all that we have and what was given so that we may have it.

Thursday, November 4, 2010

We all possess many gifts in life. A gift of good health, wealth, family and/or friends, for example. And I believe that all of these are gifts from God. Another gift is our ability to make things happen that will improve our situation in life.

But our ability to make things happen will sometimes hit a bump.

Sometimes we know what we want, but don't know how to get there. Other times, we have the ability to be able to follow a well laid-out road map, but have no final destination in mind. Another situation may be that we have so many thoughts and ideas but just let them sit in our minds and live our life through our dreams.

If you haven't quite achieved what you want out of life, I'm here to remind you that you can still have it all. I often will write at the end of a blog post to "Make it a great day!" I use that particular saying with purpose instead of, "I hope you have a great day" or "Good luck" or some other saying. I do this because I feel "hoping" and "luck" subtly suggest that you have no say in having a good day or not being able to earn something you really desire.

By "making" something great, you now have the option. The opportunity. And if you don't have it when you read it, you will have it in the next moment. Bottom-line is that you can make it happen, not because you're a nice person or because you deserve it, but because you possess this great gift and power inside of you. Use it to its fullest and make it happen.

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

One of my favorite quotes. If you break down your life, really focusing on decisions you've made and why you've made them, you will quickly come to the realization that it all comes back to the one person who can control it all...you.

And of course, me.

"Conquering oneself", I believe, has everything to do with confidence. Confidence in one's ability. Confidence in being able to figure things out. Confidence that you will see something through, despite obstacles you are sure to face along the way. Confidence that despite what others may say, you know in your heart, in your mind and down to your soul, that you will succeed.

Life is about compromises. Whether it's about compromising with your spouse/partner, negotiating with your boss or trying to get a better deal on a car, we all compromise on events and circumstances that enter our lives.

There is one thing though, I'd encourage you to never compromise on. You. Who you are and the dreams you have in your life. Stay strong in your beliefs. Now, if you decide that you want to make changes in your life, do it because you've decided to, not because you think others will be happy about it.

I encourage you to always look at the big picture but regarding your ambitions, your dreams, your innermost desires, be true to you. At the end of the day, the decisions we make are the ones we'll have to live the rest of our lives with. You owe it to yourself to be happy and feel good about who you are and what you are doing with your life.

Monday, November 1, 2010

November 15th is National Philanthropy Day. I learned of this in Fast Company magazine (www.fastcompany.com). It speaks not only about the day itself but about some seemingly wonderful charities.

One of the charities I read about is called the One Percent Club. In it, members can donate 1% of their money, time and/or knowledge to go toward different organizations around the world. Hope you'll check it out @ www.onepercentclub.com.

You can make a difference. Hope you'll check it out and don't forget about November 15th.

E-mails are funny. They are a great tool for both business and personal use allowing us to send the latest information anywhere around the world. I can't say that I totally understand how it works but I am still amazed by it.

When sending messages though, be careful not only what you write, but how it may be perceived by others. There is no tone, no voice inflection and a simple "LOL" may not do the trick.

Not so inspirational I know, but something that has burned me in the past that I thought I'd share.